Chapter 3: Forgotten Minorities at Work: Marginalization of Jobseekers With Mild Autism

The number of people diagnosed with autism has been on the rise since the 1990s (CDC Press Release, 2020; Taylor et al., 2012; Roux et al., 2013) and roughly half of them are unemployed which results in financial cost for communities and psychological hardship for themselves (Cimera & Cowan, 2009; Howlin et al., 2005). In this conceptual chapter, I focus on the employment barriers faced by a particular type of individuals on the autism spectrum disorders (ASD), namely, individuals with mild autism (previously referred to as Asperger’s syndrome). In particular, I examine the related personal, institutional, and social barriers existing in the job market, and elucidate, how these barriers are created and perpetuated to establish an uneven playing field for ASD-affected jobseekers relative to their neurotypical counterparts. In doing so, I draw on social identity theory (SIT; Tajfel & Turner, 1986) and Goffman’s (1963) concept of social stigma to propose a model that explains how stereotypes and stigma contribute to hiring discrimination against individuals with mild autism. Lastly, I offer recommendations on how organizations can address this problem by putting interventions in place to reintegrate overlooked minorities of this sort back into the workforce.